Dodd hangs his hat on firefighters

Thursday

CONCORD — Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd is counting on firefighters for a different kind of rescue — keeping his simmering presidential campaign from burning out.

CONCORD — Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd is counting on firefighters for a different kind of rescue — keeping his simmering presidential campaign from burning out.

The International Association of Firefighters' endorsement Wednesday might be Dodd's best — and maybe last — shot to overcome top-tier rivals who outshine him in celebrity, outpace him in polls and outperform him in fundraising.

The yellow-and-black-clad firefighters have done it before, resuscitating Democrat John Kerry's struggling campaign in late 2003 and helping him win the Iowa caucuses that propelled him to victory in the New Hampshire primary and eventually the nomination.

"The voters in Iowa and New Hampshire are still very much shopping," said Dodd, who is hoping that firefighters — the "most trusted of our public servants" — can push him to the front of the Democratic primary pack.

Dodd and the firefighters begin a three-day, three-state tour on Thursday, visiting Iowa, New Hampshire on Friday and Nevada on Saturday.

"This time around we're going to see if we can make lightning strike again," IAFF President Harold A. Schaitberger said at a news conference Wednesday in Washington with Dodd.

The 281,000-member union was one of two to endorse Kerry early in the 2003-04 election cycle — the firefighters backed him in September 2003 and the Utility Workers Union of America supported him in October 2003.

In Iowa, Schaitberger was a fixture on Kerry's campaign bus and a staple of the Kerry campaign was rallies featuring local firefighters. He credited their backing with injecting new energy into his campaign after trailing rival Howard Dean. The same was true in New Hampshire, with Schaitberger on the bus and rallies featuring firefighters and big pots of chili.

"The firefighters, they work," said Kathy Sullivan, former state Democratic chairwoman in New Hampshire.

"I remember they did the series of firehouse dinners and had people come out and see John Kerry. Their membership does phone calls, does mailings. They actually do work to get their candidates elected. My theory on the importance of endorsements is, they're only as good as how hard they will work."

The union's membership is a relatively small slice of the AFL-CIO federation that is critical in Democratic primaries. But it is among the most politically active and visible unions, particularly since the 2001 terrorist attacks when New York firefighters became national heroes.

Dodd, a 25-year Senate veteran from Connecticut, desperately needs their help. He barely registers in national and early states' polls against better-known rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.

He has campaigned hard, has a well-regarded staff and advertised early on television. He has participated in "kitchen table conversations" and paints himself as the strongest opponent of the Iraq war.

Dodd's New Hampshire chairman, Joe Keefe, was with Kerry in 2004.

"I've seen it firsthand," Keefe said. "I don't think it's an exaggeration to say firefighters picked up John Kerry, dusted him off and got him back in the fight."

Even before the Sept. 11 attacks, Dodd pushed for the FIRE Act, which provided more than $2.8 billion in federal funding to fire departments. He has supported collective bargaining rights for unionized firefighters and wrote the SAFER Act in 2003, which provided another $150 million to recruit and hire firefighters.

Mike O'Brien, a Nashua, N.H., firefighter who also is a state representative, hopes to help Dodd.

"Being picked, it gives you a complete nationwide support system and may open it up for you," he said. "Maybe if Senator Dodd can get a little bit more time and get the spotlight, they're going to like what the senator has to say. This is where it'll all happen. People do like firefighters and will pay attention to what firefighters pick."

Others are more cautious.

"We'll see if this finally gives Dodd some traction," said Dante Scala, a University of New Hampshire political scientist. "I think it's going to be more difficult than usual for any second-tier candidate to break through."

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